5 Ways Outlander Is Like No Other Show On TV

While fans of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series have been waiting a long time for Ronald D. Moore's TV adaptation to air on Starz, those who haven't read the books may be wondering why they should tune in to catch this new series? We offered plenty of positivity in that respect in our review, but when it comes down to it, beyond being a good show, Outlander should be watched because it's not like anything else on TV. In fact, we came up with five ways Outlander stands out as something exciting and different as a TV drama, and one well worth watching.

Just to get the basic premise out of the way, Outlander stars Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall, a British World War II combat nurse who's on vacation with her husband, Frank (Tobias Menzies), when she finds herself thrown back through time to 18th Century Scotland, where she's eventually forced to marry the gallant warrior, Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). Adventure and romance ensues. But plenty of shows have romance and music. So what does Outlander have that can't be found in any other show on TV? These five things combined...

The past and then even more past.

Outlander begins in the past and goes much further back, starting at the end of World War II and thrusting the lead character back to 18th century Scotland. Time travel isn't exactly a novel device in film and television, but it's used a bit differently here, as the story is less about Claire's adventures through time and more about her efforts to stay alive once she finds herself out of her time and in a very unstable environment, full of distrusting Highlanders and armed British military men, not to mention a lack of antibiotics and modern plumbing.